for christmas, my parents are allowing me 500 dollars with which l am supposed to by a surfboard when im out in malibu next week with family. here is my info:

im a girl, 13 years old, 5'4 or so, 85lbs. very skinny and not wide at all.

im not very experienced a surfer. the level l am at is where l can completely absolutely positively catch any kind or size of whitewater on my own, but tend to need some help catching the real waves. ive only gotten to ride the real waves a few times but ive been very natural at that.

the boards ive used are: a 7'2 al merrick fiberglass longboard, a 6'7 same thing, a 7'6 heavy longboard with rounded edges, and a 6'6 verrry light verrry nimble funboard. the easiest for me was the second board, and the hardest was the last, but it was also the most fun. my ideal board would be something in between those too somehow.

under 500 dollars too. im not asking for a specific board, but a kind to look for especially while browsing the surfshops of malibu/santa monica.

thanks

Wow, you are so lucky to have this problem. Good luck with it. Ride on.

l am nto really sure in any place in malibu or santa monica cause l have never been out there yet. l am only 13 years of age too. but l have a couple boards, l have a fish tail l believe the name is, ron john and a few other ones. you said you wanna get one in-between those two sizes than you should be able to get it, all you have to do is look at the shops. l am sure they will have one

Well at 13, the way u describe ur experience level, u really need some lessons, to help. No matter what u say, not being able to ride ''real waves'' by yourself makes u a danger to yourself & other surfers. Also, at 13, there is no way u should be left alone to spend $500.00 by yourself. If ur parents do not surf, they should certainly have some surfing adult with u before u spend a nickle. Or, at least u should really wait until u have had the adavntage of some professional lessosn.

Given ur age & size, there r a whole variety of boards that u could learn on. Do not forget, u r growing, so the board that is 'just right' in January, may be 'all wrong' come August.

Now, if u r just vsiting Malibu, a whole depends on where u r going to do the most of ur surfing, & of course, when u will be surfing.

l suggest u go to some good Malibu surf shops. Get some lessons. Private lessons or group lessons, or a 'surf camp' The instructor will rent u a board to learn on. After u master the basics, rent boards, or borrow them, until u decide u want to keep on surfing. A surfboard is a big investment. Do not waste ur money on something that will disappoint you.

This question comes up a lot on YA Surfing, & it is impossible to answer it accurately on-line. Although l am sure u will get lots of ''advice'' the real BEST ANSWER is to go to a good local surf shop & discuss ur skill level, ur size & local wave conditions with the folks there. they will give u much better info than ANYBODY out here in cyberspace. You should really think about buying a decent board, & avoiding popouts , & boards made in sweat shops in China, unless that is just all u can afford. And do not forget, there r always used boards for sale in every surf shop. After 42 years of surfing, l still get my surfboard buying advice at good local shops in the places where l surf.

And, l know there r lots of nice kids who want to share information with u on line. But do not take the advice of other 13 year olds, who may know even less than u do about surfing. Let ur folks help, a surfboard is a big investment.


http://mckevlins.com/nopopstory.htm
Boards made in far eastern sweats shops:
http://bp3.blogger.com/_hPACOtZKKko/RkSTwhvv9kI/AAAAAAAAAfg/QMqBFAtXzQ4/s1600-h/chinaboards.jpg
http://360guide.info/surfing/surfboard-types.html?Itemid=51
http://surfing-waves.com/beginner_surfboard.htm
http://surfing-waves.com/beginner_surfboard1.htm

Use this websites.